On Thursday’s press conference, the Minister of the Prime Minister’s office János Lázár underlined Hungary needs to urgently “reintroduce detention to migrants”. Unfortunately János mixed facts quite severely in his statement, so we felt we have to help him out a bit. We are not surprised, of course, that the Hungarian government does not know its own asylum legislation, given the speed with which many aspects of it were changed in 2016, and given their total ignorance of international legislation. The core of the detention legislation, however, dates back to 2013, so János should know better. Therefore we wrote him the open letter below.

***Dear János,

You stated that the Hungarian government has to reintroduce the detention of migrants to guarantee security. It is quite clear for us that your statement is a populist reach for voters among the far right, because Hungary has had a detention system in place for the last three years. Consequently, there’s no need to reintroduce it. What you suggested as a new policy is not “detention of migrants” but jailing everybody who applies for asylum. That’s very problematic for many reasons, but as you seem not to be totally aware of the system as it is now, we will begin today by sharing with you some basic facts about detention and reception in Hungary.

On Wednesday 7th of December Migszol received reports that people in the Bicske camp are now being moved out of the reception center to other camps.

Even if the closure of Bicske was announced until the end of the year (which we strongly oppose) we did not have any precise information on when it would take place. The people living in Bicske at the time - asylum seekers and recognised refugees - were surprised as well. That morning they saw a bus coming and the first group was taken to Körmend camp.​​This is only one example of how the Immigration Office does not take into consideration NGOs and groups working to support asylum seekers and refugees, but even more than that, it also shows the neglect towards the people who are trying to start a new life in Hungary, the people over whom these decisions are being made. In some cases, people were asked to sign a document that they agreed to be transferred to another camp but no translation was provided.

Goodbye pictures from Bicske

On Wednesday, there were around 60 people in Bicske (asylum seekers or refugees). Around 23 people were taken to Körmend, 20 to Kiskunhalas and 20 to Balassagyarmat.​Migszol condemns this action and condemns the Hungarian Immigration Office for closing the best-functioning camp in the country and place people in inhumane conditions. Körmend camp is the worst camp currently existing in Hungary (which says a lot). It is made up of tents that are completely unsuitable for people to live in, particularly in these extremely cold temperatures. It is now below 0°C which puts people’s health and even lives at great risks. Our friends that arrived in Körmend wrote to us about the conditions and sent us pictures.

They were given wood to make fire to warm themselves. What could be more dangerous in a tent camp than making fire? Only a few weeks ago a 10-year-old and his grandmother died in Greece after a camp was set on fire.

Even if the conditions are slightly better in Kiskunhalas and Balassagyarmat, they are still not good enough! The Kiskunhalas open center only has containers, which are also not close to being adequate for the harsh winter conditions.

Additionally, these camps are in remote places and segregated, which results in further exclusion of those people who are trying to start a new life here. Many had started attending different activities in Budapest (Hungarian classes, friendships, university, etc..) that they can no longer continue.

The Immigration Office never publicly explained why they want to close the Bicske camp. Migszol sees this as part of a deliberate destruction of the Hungarian asylum system and of the racist propaganda that has been spread in the last year. This goes along with the closure of Debrecen camp, and the cancellation of financial support to asylum seekers and refugees (the “integration contract”).

One explanation unofficially expressed by the Office of Immigration and Nationality (OIN) for the closure of the camp was that there was not enough people to be accommodated, and thus there was simply no need for it. This justification is ridiculous, as we know that around 6400 people are blocked in Serbia as a consequence of the Hungarian border management. The Hungarian authorities reduced the number of people being allowed into the transit zone at the start of November from 15 to 10 people per transit zone per day, and only during weekdays. Additionally, people crossing the borders irregularly, who are entitled to apply for asylum, are simply and almost systematically pushed back to Serbia. More than 1000 people are sleeping rough in Belgrade waiting for their “turn”. The Immigration Office’s statement can also certainly not explain why they would close the best-functioning camp in the country and not the tent camp or far-off facilities.​In these conditions, other EU countries should also take on their responsibility and be aware of the consequences of sending asylum seekers back to Hungary based on the Dublin regulation.Migszol is always demanding protection, decent support, accommodation and respectful treatment for asylum seekers and refugees.That goes way beyond, but definitely includes NOT INTENTIONALLY FREEZING PEOPLE IN TENT CAMPS:​

With our first and second situation update, we have started a series of documentation in which we report every other week about the asylum situation in Hungary. The information either comes from us, or then we collect information from people working in the ground about camps, detention centers, transit zones and the border areas and make relevant up to date information available in English.

Overview on the Balkan route and numbers

This week a lot of changes have taken place along the Balkan route. While the EU-Turkey deal got blocked by Greece as Greek courts decided Turkey is not a safe country for refugees, and the evacuation of thousands of people in Eidomeni by Greek authorities has started, Bulgaria is planning to build more fence on its border with Greece and Turkey to limit the entry of asylum seekers. The number of people continuing to arrive in Serbia - where supporting infrastructure is urgently needed - and travelling on to Hungary is growing. According to the Hungarian border police 776 people were registered to enter into Hungary under the fence, and were apprehended between May 18th and 23th. UNHCR estimates the number of people entering Hungary from 18th to 22nd at around 772 people in total. For Austria, up to date information on the numbers is unfortunately not available. In comparison to the last weeks this means that the numbers are rising.

Many are asking us about the situation in Hungary regarding the transit zones and the planned legislation that would abolish all integration contract. In this post, we have gathered some of the latest information on the situation.

Regarding the planned legislative changes, the only update we have is that people who are staying in camps are no longer receiving cash allowances. This is especially worrying considering the poor/limited quality and amount of food in the camps. People are no longer available to supplement their diet with the cash allowance. Regarding the planned abolishment of the integration contract for recognized refugees, and other changes, there is no further information, not even regarding to whether or when the parliament would discuss the matter. We would also like to remark that while the topic of people seeking protection crossing into Hungary is, once more, a topic in the national media, the planned legislative changes are not.

The situation is particularly worrying in the so called transit zone at the southern border. While access to the actual containers where cases are handled in extreme speed is restricted, humanitarian groups are working on both sides of the border. We especially recommend this testimony from a volunteer at the humanitarian group Migration Aid, describing the situation in the transit zone this week. Migszol Szeged is also present in this area, as well as Serbian groups. Furthermore, this recent, powerful video testimony from the transit zone, made by Volunteers on the Rise this April, is very telling of the situation.​The media outlet Index has recently reported on the conditions in the zone. The most frequent reports include:

The number of people who are allowed to seek asylum in the transit zone is restrained to 20/day per container, amounting to ca. 40 people per day

Single men need to wait much longer than families, but also families need to wait up to two weeks

In the area in front of the transit zone, they are not allowed to put up tents, there are zero hygienic facilities.

To illustrate the reception they receive upon arrival let me share my own case of approaching the Hungarian border fence from the Serbian side. It was raining and I probably looked soaked and in disarray, but my “sirius.help” jacket was clearly visible. Despite this, they must have took me for an asylum seeker, because I saw 5-6 police officers and soldiers gather at the spot where I approached. I heard one of them say “lets spray him with a bit of gas” and took out the teargas canister. I figured it was best to quickly identify myself and let them know that I did not intend to cross the fence.

Migration Aid volunteer, Andras Siewert

This week it was revealed that the translation provided for those people who are currently in court for inciting violence in the Roszke area in September was fake. Worryingly, and quite shockingly, it turned out an entire paragraph had been added to the testimony of one of the defendants. Recently, Channel Four has reported on this scandalous, very obviously political case, where a blind person, and a person in a wheelchair, are accused of starting a riot in Roszke last October.

At the same time, the government has announced that they will set up a tent camp in Kormend, in the vicinity of the Austrian border. The tent camp should accommodate around 300 people. How legal aid, health care and psycho-social support will be set up in the camp remains a mystery. In response to the camp, the Austrian authorities have begun to build a fence on the Hungarian border. For updates from Bicske, you may see our recent blog post, and for updates from Vamosszabadi, the other open camp, we hope to be able to update you soon.

We are extremely concerned about the new plan of the Austrian government to push back asylum seekers to Hungary and Italy. Leaving Hungary is becoming extremely difficult - undercover policemen, quite clearly relying on racial profiling, are trying to catch people in the train stations, and the cars travelling from Hungary to Austria are being checked. Regarding Austria's planned legislation, we wonder how Austria can declare Hungary a safe country, when Finland has completely stopped Dublin deportations to the country? In our recent discussions with people seeking protection, we heard of many cases where people have been pushed back to Hungary in total disregard of the EU legislation that would ask for a Dublin case. Those people deported to Hungary are systematically detained.

Hungarian state TV news, 22nd April: "Viktor Orban: Germany now thinks the same way about handling the migrant crisis, as we do"

Migszol is increasingly worried about the fact that the rhetoric and language that Hungarian politicians and authorities use about refugees remains unnoticed. During the celebration of the 5th anniversary of the Fidesz-drafted Hungarian constitution, the Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that “islamization” is against the constitution of Hungary that defines the country as Christian. The rhetoric of Orban, as well as other notable politicians in Hungary, increasingly relies not only on islamophobia, but an increasingly racial definition of muslims as a separate ethnic identity that needs to be separated from white, Christian Hungary. For instance, Santha Hanga, a director of research at the Migration Research Institute that advises the Hungarian government on migration-related issues recently stated in an interview that the integration of Muslims is not possible without “behavioral therapy” that would address muslims’ lack of individual sense of conscience. To get an idea of the government’s line, you may also read the recent essay in English from Maria Schmidt, the chief historian of the Hungarian government. Although there are severe ongoing crises in Hungary regarding corruption at the National Bank, in the education and healthcare section, migration continues to dominate the news of the state TV.